Leiden is one of the 21 universities in the League of European Research Universities (LERU). Rectors from LERU universities such as Oxford, Leuven, Barcelona and Paris came together in Leiden at a meeting at which Dutch Minister of Education, Jet Bussemaker, gave a talk on research and innovation policies in the Netherlands. Professor J.A. Knottnerus, Chairman of the Scientific Council for Government Policy, also addressed the meeting.

Issues on the agenda included Horizon 2020, the European fund for innovation and research, the ERA (European Research Area), that aims to create a single European market for research, and a new ranking, U-multirank. Further topics of discussion were the free access to publications, academic integrity and MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses).